Photo by Dr. Nesrine N. Gorgojo
DR. JAIME GORGOJO - Violin
Dr. Jaime Gorgojo frequently appears as a soloist and chamber musician both nationally and internationally. Recent appearances include recitals at the Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Grand Teton Music Festival, Strathmore Hall in Washington DC, and Chicago Symphony Presents Chamber Music, solo and in collaboration with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax.
Dr. Gorgojo is a 2018 recipient of the Individual Artist Grant from City of Chicago to produce the recording of an album titled “Iberia,” featuring Spanish and Georgian music for violin and piano.
Dr. Gorgojo combines his performing career with a vocation for pedagogy and an entrepreneur vision. He is Violin and Chamber Music Professor at North Eastern Illinois University in Chicago, and Founder and Artistic Director of CCMF (Chicago Chamber Music Festival), a summer program for young talented musicians, currently in its sixth season. During the summer of 2017 he was violin faculty and concertmaster for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival in the island of Hawaii, and in 2018 he taught master classes in Bowling Green State University and Harold Washington College in Chicago.
As an orchestra musician, Dr. Gorgojo often appears as guest concertmaster with Northbrook Symphony, Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, and other groups in Chicago. He was concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has performed under the baton of Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jaap van Zweden. During the 2018-2019 season he will join the Haymarket Opera Company, one of the country’s leading organizations for historical performances, as an orchestra member. An avid explorer of different musical styles, Dr. Gorgojo, performs as first violin with Corky Siegel´s Chamber Blues, an ensemble that juxtaposes blues and classical styles.
Dr. Gorgojo received his Doctor of Music and Literature degree from Indiana University in October 2013 with a thesis on the works for solo violin by Manuel Quiroga and Jesús de Monasterio. He is the winner of the “Juventudes Musicales de Madrid Award” and recipient of the prestigious “La Caixa Fellowship”, Spanish Culture Minister Scholarship, and the Bloomington Camerata Scholarship for excellence in orchestra playing. Dr. Gorgojo performs on a Pierre Dalphin violin from 2005.
Photo by Chuck Osgood
CHIHSUAN YANG - Violin/Erhu
GRAMMY nominated multi-instrumentalist/songstress/producer and composer, Chihsuan (Violin, Erhu, Piano), a native of Taiwan, her body of work spans a multitude of genres and reaches beyond borders. She is a long-standing member of the legendary, Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues. Chihsuan has toured the world over and participated in highly-acclaimed productions, stages and festivals. While being featured as a soloist in various recordings and performances, Chihsuan continues to work with a variety of artists. From playing with Yo-Yo Ma and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, to Grammy Award winner David Foster and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Her renowned skill and eclectic versatility with the violin, erhu, and piano can be heard throughout the globe.
Chihsuan's work reaches beyond live music and can also be heard on films, movie trailers, dance and theater productions. In 2014, she released her debut solo album Ways to Say Hello, a mix of original cinematic compositions. She performed on recordings for Brian Wilson's 11th studio album "No Pier Pressure" and recorded with him on “Soundstage” for PBS at the Venetian Theater in Las Vegas. She later appeared on more "Soundstage" productions with singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, Jim Peterick for Survivor and Katherine McPhee.
Her participation in Writers Theater’s production of “Next to Normal” received a JEFF Award nomination in Chicago. Her original compositions “Aria” and “Hanoi” were awarded finalist at International Acoustic Music Awards. In 2020, she received her first Grammy Awards Nomination for the collaboration with The String Theory and spoken word artist, Sekou Andrews.
In 2021, Chihsuan composed and recorded a GAP commercial for their fall campaign and later composed American Player’s Theatre’s production “Sense and Sensibility”. She is currently recording a studio album with her duo ESCP along with Bob Garrett and another solo album. She enjoys cooking and leather making in her spare time.
Website: www.chihsuanyang.com
Photo: Paul Natkin
Jeff Yang - Viola
Jeff Yang is a violinist born in Taiwan and originally from Seattle who came to Chicago to study music at Northwestern University. Yang has studied with violinists Steven Staryk, Gerardo Ribeiro, and Joe Genualdi, and with four degrees in music and industrial engineering, he has always strived to find a balance between the arts and the sciences.
Yang was a member of the Mannheim Steamroller band and Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues bands for over ten years and toured as conductor and concertmaster for the group Il Divo. He has also served as concertmaster for New Millennium Orchestra in Chicago, Emerald City Orchestra in Seattle, Spoleto Festival in Italy, and National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado. Yang has appeared in numerous PBS Sound Stage recordings with artists such Jewel, Faith Hill, Peter Cetera, Dennis DeYoung, Lyle Lovett, and has performed in live concerts with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bernadette Peters, and various other artists.
Currently, Yang is the owner of the Chicago Strings violin shop in Evanston where he deals with fine instruments and helps professional musicians through his expertise. He is an active member of Chicago Philharmonic and can be often seen with various ensembles throughout Chicago.
Photo by Chuck Osgood
Jocelyn Butler Shoulders - Cello
Jocelyn received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Cello Performance from Indiana University, and wrapped up her post-graduate studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts studying with John Sharp, principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony. She was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra for two years, ending her final year as co-principal. She has performed with several great orchestras such as the Aspen Chamber and Festival Orchestras, the Chicago Symphony’ Orchestra’s Music Now concerts, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Miami Symphony.
Jocelyn is an avid chamber musician. Her quartet became the quartet in residence at Indiana University for a year after winning the IU Kuttner Quartet competition. After arriving in Chicago, she was invited to perform in a string quartet coached by Richard Young of the Vermeer Quartet. They performed on the prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series broadcasted live on Chicago’s classical station WFMT, and they performed several concerts in the Netherlands while studying with the Vermeer Quartet and the Jerusalem Quartet. As part of the International Chamber Artists in Chicago, Jocelyn has given numerous performances, including a performance on the Mostly Music concert series, a performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto in Schaumburg, a performance/master-class at the University of North Carolina – Pembroke, and a performance on the University of Illinois Chicago’s Chamber Music Series. Additionally they performed on the prestigious Dame Myra Hess Concert Series broadcasted on WFMT, and they continue to be invited back to perform on WFMT’s “Live from WFMT” program. Jocelyn joined the Accende Ensemble in August 2010 and they will be going on their first tour in August 2011. Expanding her reach into the world of chamber music, Jocelyn is excited to be joining Corky Siegel’s Chamber Music Blues in August 2011. Currently she is a member of the International Chamber Artists, Accende Ensemble, Corky Siegel’s Chamber Music Blues, New Millennium Orchestra, Illinois Symphony, and Illinois Philharmonic.
Jocelyn is also an enthusiastic private cello teacher and has a large studio at the New Music School in Chicago. Jocelyn has studied with the top professional musicians and professors in the world including Orlando Cole (Curtis Institute), Anthony Elliott (Univ. of Michigan), Eric Kim (retired principal – Cincinnati Symphony), and Stephen Geber (retired principal – Cleveland Orchestra). The knowledge given to her by the musical greats combined with her own vast musical experience and love for children, has made her one of the premier cello teachers in Chicago.
Kalyan Pathak - Tabla
Kalyan Pathak (Tabla) is a composer, musician, drummer and a percussion player of a multi cultural experience covering a very vast base.
“Fleet Finger Virtuosity”
- Chicago Tribune - Howard Reich
Born in Ahmedabad, India, formally trained, from his age 9 till age 15, in Classical Tabla with Ustad Kader Khan, later an apprenticeship with the most prominent drummer, Mr. Ranjit Barot, brought teenaged Kalyan to Bombay in the mid 80’s. While devoting himself to western drumset, Kalyan concurrently did regular studio session work in Bollywood, and toured all over India playing with jazz and rock music bands.
Kalyan came to Chicago in 1991 on a full scholarship from Roosevelt University earning B. Mus degree with honors, and since has become one of the busiest virtuoso tabla/multi-ethnic percussionists in the country, and has performed with international artists such as, Aretha Franklin, Regis Philbin, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Theordore Bikel, as a soloist with Elgin Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Ballet, collaborative group member with Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Fulcrum Point New Music Project.
Recent projects include World Premier of original score and composition of “Shanti Paath’ with Chicago Children’s Choir and Fulctum Point New Music Project at Pritzker Pavilion (2013), recordings with his own group “Jazz Mata”, composing and performing jazz big band composition for Chicago Silk Road Project (2006), and tours of Israel, Germany, Switzerland and Brazil on various musical projects.
Kalyan also created and performed tabla part and its Audio score for “Lahara Concerto for Sitar/Guitar and Tabla” by Fareed Haque, which debuted at the Orchestra Hall, Chicago, soloist Haque on Sitar/Guitar and Maestro, Zakir Hussain, on Tabla.
"Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg’s sweeping solos on 'Pilgrimage' and a guest appearance by Chicago tabla virtuoso Kalyan Pathak on the immensely attractive new tune 'Alhambra' (with its echoes of Miles Davis and Gil Evans’ 'Sketches of Spain') made this a high point of the weekend." - Chicago Tribune - Howard Reich (Dr. Lonnie Smith performance -Pritzker Pavilion on 9/1/17 - Chicago International Jazz Festival)